Education Employee Sentenced to 7 Years in Jail for Embezzlement
The Criminal Court in Thi-Qar has sentenced an education employee to seven years in prison for embezzling 145 million Iraqi dinars (ID). “The employee has been found guilty in accordance with Article 316 of the Criminal Law,” the Supreme Criminal Council said in a statement received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The statement said that […]
Najaf Council Threatens Civil Disobedience to Open Local Airport
The Najaf council threatened on Monday to declare civil disobedience and to close all local departments if the central government refused to reopen Najaf’s international airport within 3 days. This came during an extraordinary session held by the local council, attended by Najaf Governor Adnan al-Zerfi, who announced that he will meet the premier to […]
1st International Commercial Conference Opens in Karbala Karbala, 13 April 2010 ( Aswat Al Iraq )
The first international commercial conference was opened on Monday by the Karbala Chamber of Commerce, with the participation of the Indian ambassador to Baghdad and the Karbala governor. “Our embassy will do its best to improve investment operations in Iraq and Karbala” said the Indian ambassador. “This investment conference is one of a series to […]
Oldest Petrol Station in Karbala Opens
The oldest petrol station in Karbala City reopened on Monday, according to a local official. “Karbala’s Governor Amal al-Din al-Hir opened the project, located 1.5 km south of Imam al-Hussein’s shrine,” the head of the oil products department in Karbala, Hussein al-Kharsan, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. Work on the project took nearly four months […]
E-Government Conf. Kicks off in Arbil
A private conference on the application of electronic systems in governmental institutions began in the city of Arbil on Monday with the participation of Kurdistan region’s Prime Minister Barham Saleh and minister of technology and science Raed Fahmi. “The three-day conference highlights the importance of applying an e-government system in the state’s institutions to ease […]
Turks Discuss Basra Housing Project
The Basra Investment Commission said it received on Monday a delegation from a Turkish company, ranked 150 among construction companies worldwide, to discuss a housing project in the province, according to a commission statement. Midhat Binjuin, the manager of the Turkish company, said “Our company has constructed many of the important projects in the Middle […]
552 Housing Units for Basra’s Faw
The investment commission in Basra has revealed a project to build 552 housing units in Basra’s Faw district, the head of the commission said on Monday. “Each unit is made up of three stories and 12 apartments of 100 square meters each,” Haydar Ali told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. A theme park project will also […]
Rate Cuts to Boost Lending
Iraq's central bank slashed its base rate by 100 base points to six per cent as of April 1 in reaction to subdued inflation and to boost bank lending, senior advisers at the bank said. The bank's website said that the rate cut - the first in nine months - was effective as of April […]
Dollar Sales Drop to 132m on Sunday
The Central Bank of Iraq’s (CBI) dollar sales reached $132.874 million in its daily auction on Sunday, compared to $167.325 in the previous session. “The demand hit $7.570 million in cash, covered at an exchange rate of 1,183 Iraqi dinars per dollar, and $125.304 million in foreign transfers outside the country, covered at an exchange […]
Bad Weather Drives Oil Exports Lower
Iraq exported less crude in March than in the previous month because of faults due to poor weather, an Oil Ministry official said. "Exports were a bit less than in February because of technical reasons mainly linked to bad weather," Falah al-Amri, head of the State Oil Marketing Organization, said by telephone today. Al-Amri declined […]
Did Big Oil Win the War in Iraq?
Before the United States and Britain invaded Iraq in March 2003, their oil companies were shut out of oil-production contracts being negotiated by the government of Saddam Hussein. Today, more than six years of war later, Saddam is gone, and the U.S. and British oil companies are not only in on the oil contracts, they […]
Iraq's Overly Optimistic Oil Plans
The article takes a look at the energy prospects in Iraq, whose government aims to more than double oil production in the coming five years. While security and political constraints abound, production is inching up in Iraq, and recipients of 2009 oil-servicing contracts are beginning operations. Severe infrastructure shortfalls remain, however, and the pressure to […]